A series of network attacks were the first thing that brought Juli’s attention to a problem. Or at least, a potential problem. They were all attempts at remote access, pretty blatant attempts to bypass various security asures or to spoof legitimate connections.
Juli wasn’t a network cultivator, but even she could tell the attacks were pretty pathetic. It was more of a sign of future trouble. It was part of a trend where outsiders attempted to use tech to make moves against the Alliance. Unfortunately for them, their cultures weren’t steeped in tech for a millennium. Even if the Little Alliance was closer to half that, they weren’t working with scraps. They were built up from the bottom properly, including all skills they needed.
Attacks from inside were actually much more effective. So determined individuals were quite good at hacking systems. So might even be good enough to go completely unnoticed. However, they were problems from within the culture of the Alliance. Outsiders weren’t that great yet.
The problem wasn’t the present mont, but what the threats might beco. Individuals or small groups could only do so much compared to state actors. If the Exalted Quadrant focused a portion of their might to sothing, they would eventually cause problems. The sort that nobody knew about.
It was a good thing the Alliance had been security conscious from the beginning. Their foes couldn’t even hack into public networks yet- partially because they wouldn’t risk approaching close enough for ti lag to not be an issue. If they got their hands on the erging instant comms it would be another matter. However, such devices were inherently more secure, as they were only used at the top end of things.
There wasn’t anything Juli could do on her own, but she did arrange to travel to Xankeshan. She had almost total certainty that their networks had not been compromised, but she was still only going to ntion the details in person with Engineer Uzun and whatever team he recomnded. Fortunately, the spatial distortions would make that trip a fraction of the ti it would have otherwise been.
-----
“Oh hi Juli!” Suddenly being addressed, she spun around. She wasn’t so well known on Xankeshan that many people actually knew her. But of course, there was one person. “I noticed you left ho recently but now you’re here. I thought you just went to so other planet.”
It was Bear Hug. They would always approach people they knew well. Juli grinned. “This is another planet.”
“A close one!” Bear Hug swapped to energy sign. Vocalizations were hard, but better for grabbing attention. “What are you doing here? Can I ask? Is it a secret?”
“So of it. Watch your electronics.”
Bear Hug pulled out a tablet and waited for a mont. “Is sothing supposed to be happening?”
“No. Maybe I should say… if you notice anything strange, tell .”
“Oh. I’m not a good person for that. It’s all strange to .”
“Just… be careful if you get any weird ssages.”
“Oh, I know about that!” Bear Hug nodded seriously. “I’m not supposed to get told what to do except in person. Or if I’m expecting sothing specific.”
Good. Juli was glad that the Bear Hug sized hole in various security protocols was being well taken care of. It helped that they weren’t being asked to help with communication in the lower realms anymore- and soon in the upper realms. BHCP was listed as insecure anyway, but that didn’t an people always followed the rules. She might need to bring it up with Uzun, though. “That’s great. Well, I should probably get going.”
“Already? If you have to, that's fine but I was going to ask you about hiveminds.”
Juli tilted her head. “Why?” She stopped. She didn’t have to go and it was interesting enough. She just hadn’t been interested in smalltalk.
“Because I know you. Have you ever been part of a hivemind?”
“Nope. It’s not sothing you casually pop in and out of. I’d assu you would know that.”
“I don’t know. I’m not a hivemind,” Bear Hug said. “I’m just .”
“... Huh. I hadn’t thought about that distinction,” Juli said. “Why did you bring it up?”
“Because they shut down recruitnt. Here in the upper realms, I an.”
“Were you… planning to join?”
Bear Hug vigorously shook a head they created. “I have been advised that it would be a terrible idea for any number of reasons. I’ve been to visit, though. Both upper and lower realms.”
“That’s neat. They’re not really in my area of specialty, so I haven’t really interacted with them much.”
“They use computers though.”
“So does everyone. At least, in the Alliance. Including you.”
“Oh yeah.”
-----
“It might be nothing,” Juli admitted to Uzun. “But I thought I should bring it up.”
“I understand why you avoided sending a ssage,” Uzun said. “I can send so specialists. If you’re right and all the attacks have been failures, it’s still good analytical experience. The Alliance hasn’t really had to deal with cyber warfare so far, but we do have precautions in place. I don’t believe your caution was unfounded.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Juli asked.
“Make sure that important junctions stay secure. They might try the easier option of sneaking in directly.”
“Hmm. It would be difficult for them to send spies. Void ants would notice people with false auras, and have a pretty good sense of which thods are core to the Alliance. Not that they can know them all, but there are certain signatures of the major sects.” Juli thought for a mont, “As for compromising people within, it would be hard to find many that foolish. But I might suggest so things to Velvet. It’s a project she could handle without roaming far from ho.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from . If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Indeed, though few things are these days. At least within the boundaries of the Alliance.”
Juli nodded. She rembered before the spatial distortions, as well as before she was even part of the Alliance. “Thank you for your ti.”
“We appreciate your caution. It is good that you brought this to soone’s attention. Even if it’s just an increased frequency of failed efforts, we must consider the future.”
-----
“Hi! What’s it like being part of a hivemind?”
Aveksen was startled out of his thoughts by a plant. “You’re asking… ?”
Bear Hug nodded. “That’s right. I’m Bear Hug. I heard you told people all about that but you’re not doing it anymore.”
Aveksen blinked. He was aware of Bear Hug. A rather famous figure, in certain circles. Strong enough that simply being on the sa planet was sufficient to beco acquainted with their aura. Apparently Bear Hug… transmitted information? Sohow? Aveksen hadn’t been involved in anything that required their input. “I’m not retired.”
“But you are tired. By which I an, uh, they paused recruitnt right?”
“... How did you find out?”
The suspicion of Aveksen was far overwheld by a few other parts of the hivemind. None of them had told Bear Hug, though.
“So people were complaining about their cohort being canceled after everyone started yelling. And so other people sowhere else, also after people passed out everywhere.”
“... How many of you are there?” Aveksen asked. He thought they’d done a pretty good job of limiting the spread of that information.
“That’s classified!” That was the normal response, apparently. The answer rang through the mbers of the hivemind that had t Bear Hug as a truth. “It’s a bunch. It’s probably fine to say there are a couple of in the region. But sotis people an only two and sotis it’s more and I won’t say which!”
Aveksen centered himself. “Being in a hivemind is like having a large number of allies you can reach out to at any ti and that you trust with all your heart.” It was so difficult to say that at the mont. Not that he didn’t trust the hivemind, but because he didn’t trust those who might be influencing them. Or spying on them.
“Whoa. Maybe I am a hivemind! But I’m pretty sure it’s still different. Are you everyone?” Bear Hug looked around.
“No,” Aveksen said. Technically, there were also people that weren’t part of the hivemind around as well. It was just a high proportion of the population. “I am just , and a part of sothing more.” Aveksen had a thought. “Is there a reason you are here?”
“I’m looking for weird things and bad things!”
“Like what?”
“I dunno! But having to shut down recruitnt is probably weird and bad. I should tell soone.”
“Can you… not?” Aveksen asked.
“Why?” Bear Hug asked, tilting strongly. “I won’t let you get up to any skull-digging if that’s what you’re up to!”
“Skullduggery?”
“Yeah!”
“I’m not doing anything bad. But… who would you be telling?” Aveksen was keeping too much information from flowing to the hivemind, just in case.
“The Alliance! I get paid, you know.”
“That sounds suspicious.”
“I swear it’s legit! Why don’t you want to say anything?”
“Because I’m trying to find the culprits.”
“Um. I’m pretty sure you can just start recruiting people again,” Bear Hug said. “Aren’t you one of the guys in charge of that?”
“So people did sothing bad, which was why we had to stop.” Why did Aveksen trust this… plant? Why did the hivemind trust them? “I’m trying to look into it.”
“Oh, cool! I can help. I’m like, a super spy. Who did the bad things? What do they look like?”
“They’re dead.”
“Then the problem is… ghosts?”
The conversation was nearly as frustrating as his own thoughts running in circles for the past couple of months. So… still better than not having it, he supposed. “Not ghosts. Though, we can’t rule out possession.”
“Tell more.”
Aveksen could have not done it. That was why he chose to. If he felt like he was being compelled or manipulated, he would have avoided it a lot more. Instead, it was like working with a kid. A pretty old kid. The attitude was refreshing.
He shared what he rembered. Different cultivation thods. No matching features of any kind. He even ntioned how it felt.
“I don’t like that at all,” Bear Hug said. “What if they get inside my head?”
“Do you… invite people in?”
“I do not. But what if they wore like a suit?”
Aveksen waved his arm at the form in front of him, vaguely gesturing to all of Bear Hug. “Is your consciousness… in your strands?”
“Only sort of! Anyway, it sounds like they used a an technique. Did you say their heads exploded?”
“It felt like it,” Aveksen said. “But no. Any damage they suffered was a result of retaliation.”
“That would have made it really hard to train,” Bear Hug said. “If they exploded when they did it. Maybe anyone can learn the an brain thing?”
“That’s… possible,” Aveksen admitted. “What would we do then?”
“Weed out people who aren’t nice,” Bear Hug said. “You should do that anyway.”
“We try,” Aveksen admitted. “But it’s hard to go in depth with everyone. Especially over many different planets.”
“I don’t have enough bodies for that either,” Bear Hug said. “There are a lot of humans. Have you tried asking void ants?”
“We… have not.”
“Why?”
“People are afraid.”
“You should et so! They’re so nice. Has anyone been hurt by a void ant?”
That was a good question. Aveksen consulted the hivemind. He got back horrifying images of people being sward. However, it wasn’t anyone from the hivemind. They would be dead, after all. It hadn’t even been their friends. Just enemies. “Not directly.”
“You should et so. They’re like fishies, probably. You think they’re trying to eat you but they aren’t. Well, maybe a little.”
“Was that… supposed to make us feel better?”
“You don’t? I love fishies! I’m pretty sure void ants don’t eat people’s energy unless they have permission. Or if the people are enemies. That’s way better behaved. Maybe that’s what’s missing here! It’s in between the Little Alliance and the core, and you didn’t get a lot of nests here, did you?”
“Not… that many,” Aveksen admitted.
“Let know if you want to talk to soone, because I can,” Bear Hug said. “They like setting up colonies. I can also help you look for sneaky people, though maybe you need to pretend you’re letting people in again?”
“... I’ll consider it,” Aveksen said. He couldn’t make such a decision alone, but he didn’t know if it was safe to do it as a group either. One mistake, and they could lose so much more than last ti.
Reviews
All reviews (0)